USSSpearfish

History
United States
Builder	Electric Boat Company,Groton, Connecticut
Laid down	9 September 1937
Launched	29 October 1938
Commissioned	19 July 1939
Decommissioned	22 June 1946
Stricken	19 July 1946
Fate	Sold for scrap, 19 May 1947
General characteristics
Class and type	Sargo-classcompositediesel-hydraulicanddiesel-electricsubmarine
Displacement	1,450long tons(1,470t) standard, surfaced 2,350 long tons (2,390 t) submerged
Length	310 ft 6 in (94.64 m)
Beam	26 ft 10 in (8.18 m)
Draft	16 ft7+1⁄2in (5.067 m)
Propulsion	4 ×Hooven-Owens-Rentschler(H.O.R.) 9-cylinderdiesel engines(two hydraulic-drive, two drivingelectrical generators) 2 × 126-cellSargobatteries 4 × high-speedGeneral Electricelectric motorswithreduction gears two shafts 5,500shp(4.1 MW) surfaced 2,740 shp (2.0 MW) submerged
Speed	21 knots (39 km/h) surfaced 8.75 knots (16 km/h) submerged
Range	11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h)
Endurance	48 hours at 2 knots (3.7 km/h) submerged
Test depth	250 ft (76 m)
Complement	5 officers, 54 enlisted
Armament	8 ×21 inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes (four forward, four aft) 24 torpedoes 1 ×3 in (76 mm)/ 50caliberdeck gun four machine guns

USSSpearfish(SS-190),aSargo-classsubmarine,was the only ship of theUnited States Navyto be named for thespearfish,any of several large, powerful,pelagic fishesof the genusTetrapturusallied to themarlinsandsailfishes.

Construction and commissioning

Spearfish′skeelwaslaid downon 9 September 1937 by theElectric BoatCompany inGroton,Connecticut.She waslaunchedon 29 October 1938, sponsored by Mrs. Lillian Spear, wife ofLawrence Y. Spear,president of Electric Boat Company.Spearfishwascommissionedon 17 July 1939.

Pre-World War II service

Spearfishconducted sea trials offNew London, Connecticut,and then held her shakedown cruise in theGuantanamo Bayarea from 21 August to 3 October. She was overhauled at thePortsmouth Navy YardinKittery, Maine,from 1 November 1939 to 2 February 1940. On 10 February, she set sail for the West Coast. After training operations in theSan Diego, California,training area from 6 March to 1 April, the submarine sailed toPearl Harbor.

First and second war patrols

Spearfishoperated betweenHawaiiand the West Coast until 23 October 1941, when she departed Pearl Harbor and headed forManila.She conducted training operations there from 8 November until the outbreak of war on 8 December (7 December east of theInternational Date Line), when she began her first war patrol. This mission took her into theSouth China Sea,nearSaigonandCam Ranh Bay,French Indochina,and offTarakanandBalikpapan,Borneo.On 20 December,Spearfishencountered a Japanese submarine and made a submerged attack. She fired four torpedoes, but all missed the target. She put intoSurabaja,Java,on 29 January 1942 for refitting.

On 7 February, she began her second war patrol.Spearfishpatrolled in theJava SeaandFlores Seaand made unsuccessful torpedo attacks on two cruiser task forces. On 2 March, she put intoTjilatjap,Java, and took on board 12 members of the staff of the commander of the submarines of theAsiatic Fleet,for transportation toAustralia.The patrol ended atFremantle, Western Australia.

Third-sixth war patrols

Her third war patrol, from 27 March to 20 May, took her to theSulu SeaandLingayen Gulf.On 17 April, she sank an enemy cargo ship of about 4,000 tons, and on 25 April, she sankToba Maru,a 6,995-ton freighter.

On the night of 3 May, the submarine slipped into Manila Bay and picked up 14 nurses, and several staff officers fromCorregidor.She was the last American submarine to visit that beleaguered fortress before it surrendered. Navy nurse andLegion of MeritrecipientAnn A. Bernatituswas among the 27 rescued bySpearfish.

From 26 June to 17 August, she scouted theSouth China Seafor enemy shipping, and from 8 September to 11 November, searched the west coast ofLuzon,where she damaged two freighters.

Spearfishsailed fromBrisbaneon 2 December 1942 and patrolled in theNew Britain-New Irelandarea for over a month before entering Pearl Harbor on 25 January 1943. FromOahu,she was directed toMare Islandfor a major overhaul, which lasted from 3 February to 19 May.

Seventh-ninth war patrols

Spearfishreturned to Pearl Harbor on 26 May, and began her seventh war patrol from there on 5 June. She cruised theTruk Islandarea, made a photographic reconnaissance ofEniwetok Atoll,and then patrolled in the vicinity ofMarcus Island.After refitting atMidway Islandfrom 1 August to 25 August,Spearfishsearched Japanese home waters south ofBungo Suidofor shipping. On the night of 10 and 11 September, she made a submerged torpedo attack on a convoy of seven freighters escorted by one destroyer and two torpedo boats. The submarine fired torpedoes at four ships, and damaged two.Spearfishwas attacked withdepth chargesthroughout the day, but finally eluded the escorts. On the night of 17 and 18 September, she attacked another convoy of seven ships with their escorts, sinking two and damaging one. Upon concluding this patrol, the ship sailed to Pearl Harbor for refitting.

From 7 November to 19 December,Spearfishperformed photographic reconnaissance ofJaluit,Wotje,andKwajalein,Marshall Islands,to aid the coming invasion of those islands. On 5 and 6 December, she acted as lifeguard submarine for air strikes on Kwajalein and Wotje.

Tenth-twelfth war patrols

Bricker Crew (B-29) Z-1 "Pee Wee" 1944. Left to right, back row: CPT Linden O. Bricker, 2LT Kenneth R. Chidester, 2LT Jay L. Meikle, 2LT Jack O. Mueller, 2LT Clifford B. Smith. Front row: SGT Edmund G. Smith, CPL Emory A. Forrest, CPL William F. Frank, CPL Stephen J. Darienzo, SSG Richard J. Grinstead, CPL John C. Estes

Spearfish’s 10th war patrol was made south ofFormosafrom 17 January to 29 February 1944. On 30 January, she made two torpedo attacks on a convoy of three merchantmen and two escorts. She sank an escort and the passenger-cargo ship,Tomashima Maru.On 10 February, her attack on a convoy of four ships and their escorts damaged a freighter and sank a transport. The next day, she damaged another freighter in an 11-ship convoy. On 12 February, she crippled another freighter.

Spearfishsailed on her 11th war patrol from Pearl Harbor, 31 March, for theEast China Seaand the area north ofNansei Shoto.On 5 May, she sank a freighter, and the following day, she sank the cargo ship,Toyoura Maru.When the submarine returned to Pearl Harbor on 27 May, she was routed to the West Coast for a major overhaul. After spending from 6 June to 3 October at theMare Island Navy Yard,the ship returned to Pearl Harbor on 10 October and held training exercises for a month.

Reconnaissance photo of Iwo Jima, taken from USSSpearfish

Spearfish’s last war patrol took place from 12 November 1944 to 24 January 1945. On the first part of the patrol, she made photographic reconnaissance surveys ofIwo Jimaand of Minami Jima. The submarine spent the second part in theNanpō Islandsarea on lifeguard duties and offensive patrolling. She was on the surface 23 nautical miles (43 km; 26 mi) east-southeast ofIwo Jimaat24°40′N141°39′Eat 17:15 on 28 November 1944 when aUnited States Army Air ForcesB-24 Liberatorbomberattacked her withrocketsandstrafedher.Herofficer of the deckobserved a large explosion plume 700 yards (640 m) fromSpearfishjust before she submerged.

On 19 December 1944,Spearfishrescued seven survivors (CPT Linden O. Bricker, 2LT Kenneth R. Chidester, 2LT Jay L. Meikle, 2LT Clifford B. Smith, SGT Edmund G. Smith, CPL Stephen J. Darienzo, and SSG Richard J. Grinstead) from a ditchedB-29 Superfortress,Z-1Pee Wee.Four airmen were killed during the ditching (2LT Jack O. Mueller, CPL Emory A. Forrest, CPL William F. Frank, and CPL John C. Estes). This marked the first submarine rescue of downed B-29 airmen in thePacific theater of operationsduringWorld War II.

On 11 January 1945,Spearfish'sguns sank asampan.She took three Japanese on board as prisoners, but one died several days later. LCDR C.C. Cole, commanding officer of theSpearfish,noted in the ship's log atTanapag Harbor,Saipan,on 13 January that he returned the seven airmen to their quarters under jubilant escort from their squadron.

Fate

When she returned to Pearl Harbor on 24 January,Spearfishwas used as a training ship until 18 August. On 19 August, she got underway for the West Coast and arrived at Mare Island on 27 August. On 7 September, a Board of Inspection and Survey recommended that she be decommissioned immediately and possibly scrapped. She was retained in an inactive status for experimental explosive tests. The tests were cancelled, andSpearfishwas decommissioned atMare Islandon 22 June 1946. She was stricken from theNaval Vessel Registeron 19 July 1946, sold to theLerner CompanyofOakland, California,and scrapped in October 1947.

Honors and awards

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  Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medalwith 10battle starsforWorld War IIservice

In media

Spearfishis the subject of an episode of thesyndicatedtelevisionanthology series,The Silent Service,which aired insyndicationin theUnited Statesduring the1957-1958 season.

References

Citations

• This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.The entry can be foundhere.

Bibliography

• Hinman, Charles R., and Douglas E. Campbell.The Submarine Has No Friends: Friendly Fire Incidents Involving U.S. Submarines During World War II.Syneca Research Group, Inc., 2019.ISBN978-0-359-76906-3.

External links

• Kill record: USSSpearfish
• Photo galleryat navsource.org